Wind Power Off Plum Island

All the attention being paid on Long Island to LIPA’s proposal to put 40 400-foot high wind turbines 3-1/2 to 5 miles off Jones Beach reminded me that a company called Winergy wants to build a demonstration wind power project off Plum Island. Newsday has mentioned it in passing a couple of times, and I wrote about it very briefly once.

I don’t think they were on the Web back then but they are now. Their proposal is to put three turbines off the south shore of Plum Island (where the U.S. Department of Agriculture has an animal-disease research center), to test a technology that might be suitable for far offshore, where nobody can see it. Here’s a summary, from Winergy’s site, which includes some good maps:

The proposed project will provide a model to test an innovative technology that will make it possible to locate wind farms 12-20 miles offshore. This will eliminate the primary objection raised by those concerned that wind turbines will diminish ocean views. The company is proposing to erect three wind turbines: two on traditional monopile bases, and one using a new “lift-boat” technology that will allow wind turbines to be located in water depths of 150 feet. Current monopile technology only allows wind turbines to be built in 60 feet of water or less.

The Wind Park will be located about two and a half miles east of Orient Point, just south of Plum Island within a 200-acre leased area that is currently being used for a commercial fish farming operation. The site was selected because of its remoteness from population and marine traffic. The area has wind speeds of class 6, which are economically viable for wind development.